“Give Us Our Mandela Moment: Free Oscar Now! So the World Can Witness ‘Invictus’ of Puerto Ricans by the Power of One”

“If I am standing here today, it is not because I lack the courage to fight, but rather because I have the courage to fight. I am certain, and will reaffirm, that Puerto Rico will be a free and sovereign nation.”

– Oscar López Rivera, at his trial for seditious conspiracy, 1981

Oscar Part 2: “The Perfect Storm”

The Winston Churchill words “those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it” often touted by President Obama on the dais, to steer Americans on the path to righteousness, ring very hollow today. The PROMESA passage on June 29, 2016 will go down in history as a day of infamy for the United States of America. And the buzz word from every corner of the island is“indignation.”

COUNTDOWN TO COLONIAL TAKEOVER:

BACK TO THE FUTURE

May 27, 2016
Juan González, co-host of Democracy Now, Daily News column, “A Colonial Takeover Proposed Puerto Rican Debt Bill to Give ‘Dictatorial’ Powers to Unelected Board.” “The bill has provoked a furor among many island residents because it imposes a seven-member oversight board with dictatorial powers that hearken back to colonial days, and because it is geared to protecting bondholders and paving the way for massive cuts in the island’s public services.” read more

May 31, 2016
Matt Peppe, Global Research, “Obama Continues to Ignore Pleas to Free Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Oscar López Rivera.” The mega star Lin Manuel Miranda uses his coveted invitation to the White House to put in a good word for the release of political prisoner Oscar, to which President Obama made the reply, “he had the case on his desk.” read more

The Puerto Rican tragedy couldn’t get any worse, you might think. But it does for me. The catharsis that followed this email was the 16-year build-up of outrage, frustration and anguish. I froze before my closet mirror sliding doors, my eyes on the floor, afraid to see the woman in the mirror. Tears were staining my face like the forlorn stepchild, unloved and mistreated. I prayed, God, in our darkest hour don’t let President Obama turn his back on the people of Puerto Rico he made a promise to back in June 2011. When the eyes of the world were on us for a whole 3 ½ hours! And Obama won the hearts and minds of islanders enjoying the Puerto Rican hospitality, “El Sandwiche Media Noche” surrounded by jubilant locals for lunch.

Obama’s ‘Visita Flash’

To the outside world, beyond our island’s shores, Obama’s historic presidential visit all boiled down to just another pit-stop along the campaign trail, and his courtship of the State of Florida Puerto Rican voters. But from my view (a loyal and I mean loyal Obama supporter) Air Force One was packed with hope. The Fortuño years of unbridled austerity had ruined confidence in local government. Obama represented the “Great Black Hope for Brown Folks” coming to the rescue of his adoring fans.

Obama’s top advisers to the 2010 White House Task Force on the Status of Puerto Rico were also aboard, to follow-up on the President’s mandate to island political leaders: To set a date for the 2012 referendum on the resolution of the island’s political status that he promised to honor, endorse and take before the US Congress. This Task Force Report revealed President Obama is a friend and ally of the Puerto Rican people and our cause for self-determination, economic and sustainable recovery and prosperity (unlike his predecessors who are most remembered for their policy of lip-service):

“The Task Force recommends (consulting) all relevant parties – the president, Congress, and the leadership and people of Puerto Rico – statehood, independence, free association, and commonwealth- and have that will acted upon by the end of 2012 or soon thereafter.” (NILP: “The White House Task Force on Puerto Rico,” March 16, 2011)

A DiaspoRican returnee, residing in Puerto Rico since 1999, the forty-year veteran of the wars on poverty in NY, the SF/Bay Area and Comunidades Especiales (PR) has worked for federal, state and municipal island governments. She’s a Writer’s WellLiterary Competition Winner, former public affairs writer KCBS News Radio (SF), her personal vignettes and essays appear in The Rebeldes Anthology: Bolder (Latino Rebels e-book),Border-Lines Journal, Latino Research Center, University of Nevada, Reno; La Respuesta; Mujeres Talk; Latina Lista News; Somos Primos. The Bronx Science alumna, holds a BA in Black and Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter College (NYC) and education courses, La Universidad Interamericana, Guayama. And lives in Vega Alta with her daughter where she is editing her back-to-roots memoirs.

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Eleanor Parker Sapia

Puerto Rican-born, Eleanor Parker Sapia is the author of the award-winning, historical novel, A DECENT WOMAN, published by Sixth Street River Press. The book is a Finalist in the 2016 International Latino Book Award with Latino Literacy Now, and was Book of the Month with Las Comadres and Friends National Latino Book Club. She is featured in the award-winning anthology, Latino Authors and Their Muses, edited by Mayra Calvani.
Eleanor is a writer, artist, photographer, and blogger, who is never without a pen, notebook, and her camera. Her wonderful adult children are doing wonderful things in the world, which allows Eleanor the blessing of writing full time.
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